YITSKHOK (ISAAC) BERLINER

YITSKHOK (ISAAC) BERLINER (1899-June 27, 1957)

He was born in Lodz, Poland.  During WWI, he was dragooned into forced labor for the Germans.  He began writing in 1917, and his first publications were poems in the literary volumes S’feld (The field) in Lodz.  In 1922 he emigrated to Mexico and was one of the pioneers of local Jewish cultural life.  He published poems, essays, articles, and stories, and—aside from S’feld in Lodz—they appeared in: Vokhnshrift (Weekly writings) in Warsaw; Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor), Yontef bleter (Holiday leaves), Tsukunft (Future), Zamlbikher (Anthologies), and Vokhnblat (Weekly news) in New York; Literarishe zamlung (Literary collection) in Chicago; Der shpigl (The mirror) in Buenos Aires; Belgishe bleter (Belgian leaves) in Brussels; Tint un feder (Ink and pen) in Toronto; Goldene keyt (Golden chain) in Tel Aviv; Di tsayt (The times), Di shtime (The voice), Undzer vort (Our word), and Der fraynd (The friend) in Mexico; and in a series of other periodicals.  Among his books: Shtot un palatsn (City and palaces) (Mexico, 1936), 212 pp.; Ad mosay (Until when?) (Mexico, 1941), 157 pp.; Shtil zol zayn (It should be quiet) (Mexico, 1948), 179 pp.; Gezang fun mentsh (Song of man) (Mexico-New York, 1954), 160 pp.  He contributed poems to Dray vegn (Three paths), the first Yiddish literary collection in Mexico, published by the literary group “Yugnt” (Youth) (Mexico, 1927), 96 pp.  He dramatized and staged the poem Toyt-symfanye (Death symphony) (Mexico, 1941); edited various publications of OZE (Obschestvo zdravookhraneniia evreev—Society for the Protection of the Health of the Jewish Population) and of the Jewish aid association in Mexico.  From 1949 he was a regular contributor (and for a time literary editor) of Der veg (The way).  In 1931 he received an award for the best story in a competition sponsored by Der veg.  In 1955 he received the Zvi Kessel Prize for his book, Gezang fun mentsh.  He died in Mexico City.

Sources: A. Ben-Tov, in Di shtime (Mexico) (November 18, 1948, June 1, 1949, October 8, 1949); Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (1942); N. Y. Gotlib, in Keneder odler (October 3, 1941); Yankev Glatshteyn, in Yidisher kemfer (New York) (January 28, 1949); B. Varshavski, in Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) (November 20, 1936); N. Mayzil, in Yidishe kultur (New York) (August 1947); Shmuel Niger, in Tog (New York) (August 8, 1936); G. Pomerants, in Tsukunft (New York) (1936); Moyshe Shtarkman, in Tog (August 16, 1936); S. Kahan, in Tsukunft (1955).